Page 38 of The Brooklyn Way
I looked over at her, and our eyes met. “Brooklyn, anytime you wanna do some shit like this… pack a picnic basket filled with food, pack a bookbag filled with food and bring it to my office, please feel free to do that. We don’t have to define what kinda summer fling this is, lil mama. If this is a summer fling with sex and good eats… I’m with it. Shit, next time if you want to hide out in here and serve me food while you wear nothing but an apron, you can do that, too. Come for breakfast. I’ll tear that ass up, eat your food, then go out there and help these kids with a fucking smile on my face.”
She laughed heartily, until the door to my office flew open. Tiara stood in the open doorway.
Shit! I thought I locked that! I thought to myself in frustration.
“Hey, Cam…” she began, then noticed the food and presumably Brooklyn. “What’re y’all doing?”
“Having lunch. What do you need?” I watched Brooklyn grab a colorful plastic plate and begin to load it with food for me. A grin spread across my face knowing that soon I would be eating.
“So, is this a romantic thing or something? Are y’all dating?” Tiara’s eyebrows were furrowed, and her mouth was twisted with a grimace.
“What do you need, Tiara? I’m pretty sure you came through here for a reason.”
“I did, but now I have other questions.”
“Let’s stick to the original question. What brought you here?”
“Are you and her—”
I cut her off. “Ain’t nobody about to answer your nosy ass questions. What did you come in here for?”
She threw her arms across her chest and fell back on her right hip, jutting her left leg out. That stance immediately let me know that she had an attitude.
“What?” I repeated, throwing my arms up in frustration. “What?”
“Nothing.” She turned on her heel.
“Lock the door behind yourself,” I directed.
She slammed the door so hard that the entire frame rattled, but she didn’t lock it. Instead, it was me who walked over to it and locked it. I double-checked it this time. Then I stepped into the bathroom that was attached to my office, took a piss, then washed my hands. When I returned to my desk, not only a plate of food, but also a cup of sweet tea awaited me. “Sorry about that.” I took a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Fuck that girl.” Her tone was nonchalant, as she never even looked up from where she was fixing her own plate.
I barked out a laugh. “Damn, Brooklyn. I see you, mama.”
“It’s obvious that she wants her… old thang back.”
I took a bite of a juicy, succulent chicken leg while contemplating if I should engage in a discussion about Tiara. “You know about that?” I decided that ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away.
“Yeah. One Sunday I went to brunch with Carrington and your parents after church. She was there. She mentioned to your mom that she was almost part of your family. Your mom did not look pleased.” Brooklyn chuckled lightly.
“Nah. My moms can’t stand Tiara. She thinks Tiara is opportunistic.”
“What do you think?”
“I know she’s opportunistic.”
“Ethan seems like a nice guy. I thought it was rude how she spent Friday night playing in his face.”
My shoulders hunched up and down in a noncommittal shrug. “We all grew up together. He knows how Tiara is. Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about Tiara. I wanna talk about how much I appreciate you making sure I ate today. I’mma have to repay the favor by making sure I eat tonight.” I winked at her and watched the blush crawl across her creeks.
She kept her face on her plate but slowly pushed at a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. “I didn’t do this for… that.”
My voice was low and husky. “I know. But that’s how I want to repay you. Is that all right?”
Her pink manicured fingers moved through her hair again. She lifted her eyes and grinned at me. “Okay.”
I wasn’t sure if Brooklyn thought I was just talking shit or not. All I knew was that when I showed up at the sliding glass doors of the guest house, she seemed surprised to see me there. That didn’t deter me.